Tomlinson, Chargers pick up rare road win over Chiefs

KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Ticker) -- LaDainian Tomlinson and the San
Diego Chargers picked up a rare road win over a fierce rival.

Tomlinson rushed for a pair of second-half touchdowns Sunday as
the resurgent Chargers rallied for a 24-10 victory over the
Kansas City Chiefs.

In winning just their second game in their last 11 tries at
Arrowhead Stadium, the Chargers avenged a 30-16 loss to the
Chiefs in San Diego September 30. It was San Diego's first road
victory since beating the Denver Broncos, 41-3, on October 7.

"We are both pleased and excited for the mentality that our guys
had," Chargers coach Norv Turner said. "There was a mindset
today that we were going to do whatever it took to find a way to
win.

"We created turnovers, protected the football, protected the
quarterback extremely well, and we ran the football."

Tomlinson rushed 23 times for 177 yards as San Diego (7-5) won
for the sixth time in its last eight games.

"My mindset is that we have to run the ball effectively no
matter what," Tomlinson said. "And this team is good at doing
that. We want to run the ball so everything will open up on
offense."

Tomlinson's 31-yard TD run on San Diego's first possession of
the second half broke a 10-10 tie with 12:16 left in the third
quarter.

"They made a couple of big plays and we didn't fit the run
correctly on a couple of them on LaDainian," Chiefs coach Herm
Edwards said.

"They've been waiting to get a game like that," Tomlinson said
of his offensive linemen. "They dominated at the line of
scrimmage more than they have the whole year."

The reigning NFL MVP, Tomlinson sealed the win with a 28-yard
touchdown run on 3rd-and-inches to cap the scoring with 10:15
left in the game.

Tomlinson topped the 100-yard mark for the first time since
scoring four touchdowns in a 198-yard effort against Oakland on
October 14.

"I thought that LT finished runs and I thought that he competed
at an extremely strong level," Turner said. "You get in those
third-and-ones, teams overcommit and they give you a chance to
make a big run.

"He did a good job of running the football. There were a lot of
plays where there wasn't a lot there, but he stayed with it."

Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers connected with Vincent
Jackson for a 38-yard pass for San Diego's first touchdown,
tying the score at 10-10 with 3:29 left in the second quarter.

"I thought that Vincent made a spectacular play because when the
ball was thrown you thought that there was no way he gets to
it," Turner said. "He played it like a center fielder."

Rivers completed 10-of-21 passes for 157 yards and one
interception.

Kansas City (4-8) suffered its fifth straight loss, matching its
longest losing streak since 2000. It was the Chiefs' fourth
straight home loss and fifth of the year, their most since 2001.

Damon Huard filled in at quarterback for the Chiefs as Brodie
Croyle was out with a bruised back. Huard completed 19-of-34
passes for 186 yards and one interception before leaving the
game in the fourth quarter with a hand injury.

"We made some plays today, but not enough," Huard said.
"Certainly when you get down in the Red Zone you've got to score
touchdowns. That's been the story all year for us."

Kansas City quarterbacks tossed three interceptions and were
sacked nine times.

The Chiefs' only touchdown came on a 2-yard pass from Huard to
defensive end Jared Allen, who lined up as an eligible receiver
on 3rd-and-goal. The score gave Kansas City a 10-3 lead with
5:23 left in the second quarter.

Newly signed placekicker John Carney was successful on his only
field goal attempt in his first action for the Chiefs since
replacing Dave Rayner, who was cut by the team on Tuesday after
missing three of his last five field goal tries.